Replay
by Smart Alex
Summary: Three important moments in George Koizumi's life, with a side of backstory. Slightly anime-based, now complete.
1. patterns

_Trying not to hope too hard for what I want  
_ - Lighting Candles, The Weepies

-

* * *

-

For his fourth birthday, George receives a doll and meets his father for the first time.

His father has been turned out of the house by his wife for yet another offense (it doesn't matter what, these things always smooth over.) He comes to the apartment and finds his mistress, who he'd provided with a space to live when he'd heard she was pregnant, and promptly forgotten about. He'd decided to patch things up with her and brings a toy as a goodwill offering, hoping he had remembered correctly that she had kept it.

"Oh, darling," she says, not even pointing out that he hasn't seen her in a year, not even bothering to hide the half-empty wine bottle on the table. "How thoughtful of you to remember baby's birthday."

"Naturally, naturally," he says, kissing her neck.

"I knew you'd want to meet him someday. He's such an adorable child. So precocious, it's a little bit frightening," she tells him breathily, throwing her arms around him and surrounding him in a cloud of perfume.

"Mama," pipes George in his high-pitched voice from the kitchen, staring reproachfully. "What about the cake?"

His mother brightens. "Oh, baby, don't worry about the cake. Come here for a moment."

George comes closer, and boldly stares into his father's eyes. He shows remarkable character for a child, and there is a clear resemblance between them.

His father regards him and feels pride faintly stirring up inside him. He decides that he ought to give them a better place to stay; the boy to grow up in, his mother for having him. There is a penthouse apartment being built that he had planned on keeping for himself. Perhaps he'll build another, and leave that for his boy.

"Happy birthday," he announces. "I am your father, and I expect you'll see much more of me in the future." He hands him the present, wrapped with garish ribbons. He'd told his secretary to pick something up, but he isn't quite sure what's inside.

"Mama?" George questions, turning to her.

"Don't be a goose, baby," his mother tells him, still clinging to his father. "You can trust your father at least as much as me."

George shrugs, and accepts the package. He opens it slowly, during which time his father holds his mother even closer, but keeps a wary eye on him still.

Inside is a doll. It's a very nice doll, but it has shiny brown pigtails with little curls on the bottom, big blue eyes, and it's wearing a bright pink polka-dotted dress and matching ballet shoes. It is not in the least bit suitable for little boys.

George stares at it. The doll stares back.

"Oh, dear," his mother says, staring balefully at his father.

"There must have been a mixup en route," his father offers, smoothly. "My apologies. I'll have this exchanged-"

"No," George says suddenly. He takes the doll out of the box, holds it at arms' length, and nods with a definitive air. "I like it."

"But, baby, it's..." his mother trails off, aghast.

George has already taken off the doll's clothes. His father laughs uproariously. He senses a kindred spirit, and turns his attention to distracting and possibly undressing. Neither adult give him a second thought.

George slips away quietly. He places the doll in a corner and covers her with a blanket, after some thought. He examines the dress, admires the pattern, turns it inside out and looks at the seams.

He asks for nothing but doll clothes for years. He dresses and undresses his models, matching colours and patterns and accessories.

When they have to embroider handkerchiefs in third grade, George decides to finally make a dress instead.


	2. irresponsibility

_But it's undeniably true  
I'm irresponsibly mad for you_  
- Call Me Irresponsible, Michael Buble

-

* * *

-

The secret about Seiji is that he does not, actually, really date guys.

George finds this out after exchanging a few too many sparkles and many heavy, meaningful looks on his part. (He was curious. It was a good place to start.) It's after school, the design rooms are closed; he is trapped between the desk and a slender arm, and bent at a strange angle. The door is shut, the lights are off, and if he didn't feel so trapped then he might enjoy it.

"Ne, Koizumi-kun," Kisaragi-sensei says pleasantly, still pinning him down. "You should know that I like you a lot. But I think we ought to have a conversation outside of school once in a while."

"What about dinner?" George says, and it's almost smooth, except for one little stutter.

Kisaragi-sensei sparkles even more. "I believe I know just the place."

-

"Your confidence and charm is what will get you places, sure," here Seiji pauses to take a very, very large and undignified bite of lobster, "but only idiots try to act the way you do. With looks like _that _you won't get contracts, you'll get AIDS."

George chokes on his wine (Seiji's, actually, but he's not exactly watching). "I'm sorry?"

"You're lucky I like you," Seiji responds, still attacking the lobster.

"So what, is this a no? Even after taking me out to dinner?" George quips, trying to regain his composure.

Seiji snorts. "As if your father wasn't paying for it."

-

Seiji takes him back to his apartment, and they talk. For a long time. About lots of very, very interesting things. Some of them are more uncomfortable than not, even for George, who, at fifteen, is much more mature than a number of fully grown adults.

"So you don't really like to do guys," George says, finally.

"I do not, no," Seiji says.

"But you did," George says.

"It was sort of expected," Seiji says.

And then George learns many more interesting things about the fashion industry, some of which he keeps in mind for when he is rich and famous. Which will be, of course, very, very soon.

"I think we may have to speak again in the future," George says.

"I think we might," says Seiji. The sparkles turn back on, George is allowed to stay on the couch, and a beautiful friendship is born.

-

Seiji's warnings stick with him, in the end, and George slows down just a bit. He meets a lot of girls, and meets a lot of boys, and plays around with both. Mostly, he uses that opening with Seiji to come and see him when he needs to talk to a sane adult in the insane world he lives in. It's a little like having a mother who actually cares.

They occasionally exchange deep, meaningful looks in public, but it mostly means that George wants to talk and Seiji will listen and sparkle out advice and sometimes scold him for the stupid things he did now, and it's kind of a private joke.

In a strange turn of events, George met Miwako through her older sister at the Happy Berry fashion show. Mikako had scouted him as a model in the fall, and he'd seen Miwako at school, but they'd never really spoken before.

"My little sister," Mikako says, by means of introduction, when he comes backstage from his turn and sees two Mikakos waiting for him. "She's in your grade."

They exchange pleasantries as he changes clothes, and Miwako carefully helps her sister touch up his makeup. She's putting away the kit when something surprises her.

"It's Seiji from the glitter planet!" she says, pointing him out to her sister. She even blushes.

And then George sees Mikako through Seiji's eyes.

-

George broke up with yet another vapid, pretty face. It hit him harder than usual, so he sleeps over at Seiji's apartment. But George is caustic, even to people like Seiji who take him in when they don't have to.

"I figured you out," he says bitterly, because when he is hurt, he lashes out. "You're not straight or bi or anything. You're just Mikako-sexual."

"Don't be jealous," Seiji says, and sparkles at him.


	3. interlude

_When your love lets you go you only want love more  
Even when love wasn't what you were looking for_  
- Speak Slow, Tegan and Sara

-

* * *

-

Yukari is different. She knows nothing about fashion, high society, extravagance and subtlety. She stalks around with the preoccupied air of an exam student, stalks around on long model's legs that are going to waste beneath that plaid uniform monstrosity. She'll lash out with all her intelligence and pride and be yanked back by her naivety.

She's a little like a tiger in the zoo. Keep her behind bars, and she'll pose, try to lure you in. Then she snaps. Takes a little piece with her. It's poetic, George thinks, examining a slight chip in his glass. Of course he can't tame her. Maybe he can.

He's heard all sorts of stories about the bad things that happen when a designer becomes too close to his model, all the complications that can arise after the show. But Yukari isn't a model, not really, and he isn't entirely a designer yet. And maybe, just once, he might want to live a normal life, with a girl that's more than just someone to sleep with, because he can tell that she won't be like that. Not at all. It'll take some work before she'd ever agree.

He takes a long drink, letting his mother's wine slip down his throat, thinking that perhaps it's time for new glasses. She won't notice, but the chip cuts sharply on his mouth. He can taste a little bit of copper in the wine.

Yukari has bite. Nerve. Spark. Words that sound suitably concise without accurately describing her at all. Somehow, this girl, a girl he's known for days, at most, has put herself directly into his thoughts and, maybe, his heart, and is hanging on desperately. She has claws. Like a tiger. Maybe he can change that.

He sketches a butterfly onto the tablecloth, blue ink bleeding into the linen and fading away.

-

-

* * *

_author's notes_: George tends to be abrupt. So is the ending to this series. Thank you to the 14 or so of you that have read so far, I hope you liked it. :]


End file.
